Great Gadgets to Keep Recipes Handy in the Kitchen

A few days ago I heard a panel of food experts talk about how they use recipes in their kitchens. Their answers ranged from "old school", pages torn out of a magazine or scribbled on a notecard, to the cell phone, to the iPad. I myself use all three of them, depending on the recipe I'm following. Well whichever you refer to in your kitchen, I'm sure you've been challenged to prop up the page or device so it's easily readable as well as to keep it from getting wet, smudged, or stained. (Although I do have to confess a fondness for finding chocolate fingerpints or oily smudges when I turn to a page in a cookbook that contains a recipe I've used over and over again.)

If you're a low-tech kind of gal, you'll love the Recipe Rock (about $16 in stone gray or white, red, or blue). This cute little gadget stands steady as a rock and comes with a strong magnetic ball that keeps your print-out or tear sheet upright for easy reading. Of course, this gadget won't protect your recipes from splatters or sticky fingers.

Don't know how you ever lived without your iPad? Try out the M-Edge Leisure Jacket with Theater-Stand ($45) for the iPad2. Zip it into this black fabric case with a clear vinyl cover and stop worrying about splashes of tomato sauce or balsamic vinegar mussing up your screen. On the back there's a stand to prop it up and there's even a port to expose the camera, if you love to post your creations on Facebook or Pinterest.